In middle-aged individuals, poorly controlled risk factors like blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, along with neglecting healthy habits such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep, are associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing stroke, dementia, or depression later in life, according to recent research. However, these findings only indicate a correlation and do not establish that poor lifestyle choices directly lead to these health issues.
A recent study published in the October 23, 2024, online edition of Neurology®, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reports that middle-aged individuals with risk factors like high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and cholesterol, when combined with unhealthy lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise, poor diet, and inadequate sleep, face a greater risk of developing stroke, dementia, or depression in their later years. Importantly, the study does not conclusively prove that lacking healthy habits will definitively increase the risk of these conditions, but rather highlights a notable association.
The eight important factors for cardiovascular and brain health, referred to as Life’s Essential 8 by the American Heart Association, include: maintaining physical activity; improving dietary habits; achieving a healthy weight; avoiding smoking; managing blood pressure; ensuring adequate sleep; and controlling cholesterol and blood glucose levels.
“Maintaining brain health is crucial for the well-being of individuals, allowing us to operate at our best and adapt continuously in our environment,” explained Santiago Clocchiatti-Tuozzo, MD, MHS, from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, who contributed to the study and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “Our research indicates that adopting these healthy lifestyle practices in middle age can significantly affect brain health later in life.”
In this study, researchers analyzed data from 316,127 participants, whose average age was 56, tracking their health over a span of five years.
They assessed the participants’ scores across the eight essential cardiovascular health criteria and categorized them into three groups: optimal, intermediate, and poor.
Among the participants, 64,474 achieved optimal scores, 190,919 had intermediate scores, and 60,734 ended up with poor scores.
Next, researchers examined health records to see who developed neurological issues such as stroke, dementia, or late-life depression. A diagnosis of poor brain health was determined by the onset of any of these conditions during the follow-up period.
Overall, 1.2% of the participants were categorized as having poor brain health, totaling 3,753 recorded conditions. Among those with optimal Life’s Essential 8 scores, only 0.7% were classified with poor brain health, compared to 1.2% of participants with intermediate scores and 1.8% of those with poor scores.
Upon adjusting for various factors such as age, sex, race, and ethnicity that could influence the risk of these neurological conditions, the researchers discovered that individuals with poor scores on lifestyle factors were over twice as likely to develop one of the three neurological issues compared to those with optimal scores. Additionally, those with intermediate scores were found to have a 37% increased risk of encountering one of the conditions in comparison to participants with optimal scores.
“Since the risk factors examined in this study are ones individuals can work to improve, our findings underscore the potential advantages for brain health from adhering to these eight cardiovascular and brain health guidelines,” Clocchiatti-Tuozzo stated. “Further research is required to deepen our understanding of the relationship between lifestyle choices and brain health, particularly how social factors like race and ethnicity may affect this link.”
To validate their conclusions, researchers replicated the study involving 68,407 participants over a similar five-year timeframe, which yielded comparable results.
A limitation of this research was that the participants’ scores were evaluated only once at the beginning of the study, meaning future lifestyle changes during the five years were not accounted for.
This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
